Wire terminal



Oct. 21, 1941. TE 2,260,219

WIRE TERMINAL Filed July 2; 1940 Inveniar ROWLAND F. GATES by hi. aiiarneys Patented Oct. 21, 1941 Rowland F. Gates, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as-

signor to The Arrow-Hart & Hegeman Electric Company, Hartford, Conn., a. corporation of Connecticut Application July 2, 1940, Serial No. 343,669

1 Claim.

This invention relates to wire terminals for electrical devices, for example, switches, receptacles, terminal blocks, sockets, and in fact, any electrical devices to which wire conductors may be attached.

It is an object of my invention to make a simple, improved form of wire terminal which will enable an electrician to more quickly and more easily attach a conductor wire thereto. Another object is to provide a wire terminal which will enable more than one wire to be easily and quickly attached securely to the terminal. Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear as it is dsecribed in connection with the accompanying drawing.

' In the drawing Fig. 1 is a plan view of a wire terminal with two wires connected thereto. The terminal screw head is partly broken away for cleamess.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the terminal shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, the terminal comprises a metallic plate member 4 having an aperture 5 in one end to receive a screw or bolt so that the plate may be attached to an electrical device. The terminal plate 4 at its other end has a screw threaded aperture into which the shank 6 of a terminal screw is'turned. The screw preferably has an enlarged head I beneath which wire conductors may be clamped upon the terminal plate 4 as the screw is tightened. Preferably marginal portions, such as the corners 8 and .9,or their equivalents, will be turned up from the top face of the terminal plate to provide shoulders. These shoulders are formed to afford an abutment for the conductor wires Ill and I2 on one side, while the screw shank 5 engages the conductor wires on the other sides thereof. In lieu of upturned corners, lateral lugs, extensions or the like could be formed on the plate and upturned to provide shoulders.

Heretofore, when one or more wires were to be connected with a wire terminal, the electrician would usually form a loop in the end of the wire and hook it around the terminal screw beneath the head thereof, or he might, if the shank of the screw were long enough and space permitted,

bend the bared end of the conductor wire around the shank of the screw completely. This operation consumed a relatively large amount of time, considering the simplicity of the operation, and

is held more firmly to the terminal as the bindtherefore, the operation was relatively expensive.

trician to take a longer time to make the connection, thereby still further increasing the cost of the job. When a considerable number of terminals had to be wired, the labor cost for wiring was considerably increased by these defects. If the wire was not looped around the screw shank there was danger that it would pull out from under the screw head. Attempts 'to obtain a secure fastening without looping have been made with special forms of terminals rewire conductor into the aperture from the topsurface of the terminal and then to bend the shank of the conductor substantially parallel to the surface of the terminal plate, and at the same time around the shank 6 of the terminal screw beneath the screw head I but between the screw shank and the-shoulder afforded-by the upturned corner. The electrician can accomplish this operation with a minimum of motions, so that the time taken to wire a terminal is considerably reduced. Yet, at the same time the conductor ing screw is tightened, because'the end ofthe conductor is firmly held in the aperture ([4, for

example), while the shank of the conductor is held between the shank of the screw and the shoulder formed by the upturned corner- (8).

Thus, the conductor is held at three points when encountered when two wires were to-be securedto a single terminal. Quite often, in such prior constructions one .wire would tend topush-the other out from under the screw head as the screw was tightened, thereby making the connection insecure, and, in some cases, permitting one of the conductors to be pulled away from the termi-' nal when a small amount'of strain was applied asan alternative, one or both 'wires could be looped completely around the of the terminal screw; Even if the shank of the wires were to be completely looped around the terminal having a screw-threaded hole therethrough, a

screw threaded into said hole and having an enlarged head, and means to facilitate the connection of a conductor wire to said terminal plate comprising an aperture formed in said plate adja'cent to but outside that area 01' said terminal plate which lies beneath said screw head, a conductor wire with a bared end inserted from the screw, the provision of the apertures l4 and i5 makes this loopingoperation much more simple and easier to accomplish their in the prior constructions. And, at the same time, the wins will be held more securely.

Having now described my invention,-I claim: An electric wire and terminal combination comprising, a metallic terminal plate member top of the plate into said aperture and having its shankbent around the shank of the screw, said terminalplate having a peripheral portion turned up from the surface of the plate to form a shoulder against which the conductor wire lies,

said shoulder being spaced from said aperture whereby said aperture and shoulder cooperate with the shank oi the screw and engage the conductor at three points and hold it when the screw is tightened.

v ROWLAND F. GATES. 

